Thicker Than Water
by Spanish Ninja Sneasel
Summary: Okay, I'm totally stuck on this story, so I'm not going to be writing more to it in the near future. If I decide to pick it up again, then you'll see more. But for now, it'll be left as it is.
1. Prologue and Chapter One

You know the drill. I don't own Pokemon or anything like that. If I did, it wouldn't be FAN FICTION, would it?**_  
  
  
Prologue_**  
  
Footsteps echoed through the empty streets of Olivine City as he ran through, looking for a safe spot to hide out. He had trouble seeing through the black night sky, but he managed to find an opening under the famous Olivine Dock. He stumbled onto the rocks beneath one of the many wooden structures, only holding his tears back in sniffles. He sat on the cold, jagged stones and finally let himself cry. He ran his fingers through his sandy-colored hair, pushing the dark gray hood off and lowering his head. He pulled in a quavering breath, then let it go in several throaty sobs.  
  
He knew he'd find himself in this situation again. He always ended up there. Hiding in a back alley, behind a Pokemon center, wherever he could find privacy. He never let anyone see him cry, not even his Pokemon. He had been that way as far back as he could remember. He knew that, judging by the self-confident image he always put out to impress people, he couldn't afford to cry. At least, not that anyone knew about. But there he was, once again, sulking in his own hunger for approval and loathing of rejection.  
  
No. It wasn't the rejection he loathed. It was the one who sucked in the praise. The praise that he felt rightfully belonged to him. The recognition that he spent his entire existence striving for, only to be given to someone else. That someone else was the reason he always found himself hiding his tearstained face from the world.  
  
As he drooped his head between his knees, he remembered the events to drive him into hiding once again.  
  
__ __ __  
  
  
He scurried around the South part of Olivine, searching for the payphone he had seen earlier. Eventually he found it by the Pokemon Center, and ran into the booth. as he dug through his pockets for change, he pulled out badge case along with the money. He opened the gold case to take another look at his brand-new Mineral badge. It was his twentieth badge, and so he felt he needed to tell the person that he was closest to--the person that it all started with--Professor Oak.  
  
After admiring the badge he had just won, he shoved the coins into the phone and pushed the numbers he had memorized so well. He stood impatiently, waiting for the connection. When the picture finally came on, he saw Tracey standing in front of the computer.  
  
"Oh, hi Gary. I was about to give my automated answer, but..."  
  
"Mhm. Just let me talk to Grandpa," he insisted. Gary had never been too fond of Tracey, and working as his Grandfather's right hand didn't help that image.  
  
"I'm sorry, but he's not here now. He's in Greenfield. I thought you knew that," he answered calmly.  
  
"Greenfield?! What's he doing there, And how would I know that?"  
  
"I thought he would've gotten in contact with you to tell you... Oh, well. He must have been too busy," Tracey kept his obnoxious smile plastered on his face. "Well, he went to Greenfield to help with the problem there."  
  
"What problem?" Gary questioned, perplexed.  
  
"Haven't you been watching the news or reading the papers or anything like that?"  
  
"I'm a little too busy for that. Now will you just tell me what the hell he's doing?"  
  
"There was some weird crystallization taking over the place, relating t some legendary species of Pokemon. He went to help because it involved an old student of his--"  
  
"He didn't bother to tell me any of this?" he interrupted, becoming more angry than impatient.  
  
"As I was saying," Tracey continued through his teeth, keeping his temper. He wasn't exactly Gary's attitude, either. "It's all okay now. Ash and his friends settled the score, and now they're celebrating. I think the Professor will be back in a couple of days. Do you want me to give him a message?"  
  
Gary's heart sank. His Grandfather didn't have the time to hear about Gary's victory because he was celebrating with Ash. Ash, who had--of course--performed another courageous, worldwide deed. Ash was better than him once again. At least in Professor Oak's eyes, and that's what most to Gary. He looked down at the case that was still in his hand. Earning twenty badges seemed so insignificant now.  
  
"No... No message. Just... Forget I called, okay?"  
  
"Well, don't you even--" he cut Tracey off by hanging up the line.  
  
He couldn't stand it. His Grandfather didn't even tell him about Greenfield. He knew he could have helped if he was given the chance, but once again, Ash was called on and Gary was forgotten. The glory was in Ash's hands. He stuffed his case back in his pocket, pulled his hood over his head and ran into the streets.  
  
__ __ __  
  
His thoughts of the past half hour were interrupted by a pattering noise overhead. Gary snapped back into reality and peered through the side of the old wood. His face was splattered by several rain drops. Wonderful. He had nowhere to stay tonight and it was raining. He guessed staying under the dock was the best choice he had. He took in a deep breath to calm his crying. Once he was breathing steadily, he pulled himself into a ball on his side. He pulled his gray cloak over his shivering body and tried to clear his mind so he could sleep.  
  
  
**_Chapter One_**  
  
  
"Go, Ariados!" the boy called as he threw his first Pokeball into the grass. Gary watched as the giant red spider appeared among the white glow from the Pokeball. It emitted a shrill cry as it jumped into fighting position. The teenager holding Ariados' Pokeball smirked at Gary, silently flaunting his well-trained Pokemon. The gleam in the boy's eyes stared back at him, as if challenging him all over again.  
  
"All right, but you asked for it," Gary chuckled as he whipped a red and white ball from his Pokebelt. He threw the Pokeball up a few inches and grabbed hold of it again, then finally released it. "Hitmonchan, I choose you!"  
  
The Pokeball stopped in midair and released a similar white light--then returned to Gary's hand--letting a Pokemon form on the ground from it. It wore a purple fighting robe and red boxing gloves, standing about a foot taller than the spider.  
  
"Hah! Don't you know fighting types have weak attacks against poison types?!" the other trainer laughed Gary and the Pokemon that stood before him.  
  
"Oh, I know that," Gary smirked. "Hitmonchan! Fire Punch!" he called out, pointing to Ariados. Hitmonchan ran towards the spider, his fist burning up. He hit it full-blast with a punch from his flaming fist. Ariados flew backwards, landing on its back. "I also know that thing is part bug!"  
  
The other trainer growled and ordered his Pokemon back up. "Come on, Ariados! Sludge Bomb attack!"  
  
The spider jumped back to its feet and pointed up its thorax, releasing a poison ball. It attacked Hitmonchan in the face, almost throwing him back, but he kept his feet firm. Sludge Bomb was a powerful attack, but it'd take more than that to take down one of Gary Oak's powerful Pokemon.  
  
"All right, Hitmonchan. You know what to do. Counter it!"  
  
Hitmonchan's body began to carry a white glow as he charged to Ariados once more. "Hitmon...." he called, bringing his strength up as he reached the Pokemon who was slowly backing away from him. "Chan!" he threw his fist hard onto the bottom of the other Pokemon, sending it straight into the sky.  
  
The other trainer gasped, his eyes on his airborne Pokemon. He held up the Pokeball in his hand and called Ariados back, keeping it from the further pain of landing.  
  
"Great job, Hitmonchan! Return," Gary put out the Pokeball and watched Hitmonchan envelop in the light as he returned to his Pokeball. "You're good, but I don't think you're good enough."  
  
"This battle's not over yet..." the boy stumbled on his words for a minute.  
  
"Gary. My name's Gary," he laughed, realizing that they hadn't even introduced themselves.  
  
"Right. By the way, I'm Brad..." the other trainer answered with a similar laugh. "Okay then, Gary, I'm just getting started," Brad pulled another Pokeball from the side of his backpack and pushed the button in the center, expanding it to full size.  
  
"Don't get too confident," Gary warned, doing the same with another one of his Pokeballs.  
  
"We'll see who's overconfident. It's your turn, Blastoise!" Brad released the Pokeball in his hand, revealing a huge turtle with two cannons growing from the top of its shell. Gary was familiar with Blastoises; he had one of his own at his Grandfather's lab. Blastoise raised his head, showing his full height. Gary was taken aback when he saw that this Blastoise was even taller than him. It was obviously very well-trained, whereas his own Blastoise was at least two inches shorter than him.  
  
"Hm, pretty impressive," he commented before bringing out his second Pokemon. "Go, Skarmory!" he threw the Pokeball into the playing field. The silver bird spread her steel feathers and cried out, ready for battle. Skarmory stood at about equal height with Brad's Blastoise. "Steel Wing attack, Skarmory!"  
  
Skarmory jumped into the air and dashed to Blastoise, cutting him with her wings. Blastoise kept himself aware and shot the bird down with a headbutt.  
  
"Good, Blastoise! Now give it another!"  
  
"Skarmory, evade it by flying!"  
  
Blastoise threw itself at Skarmory once more, but Skarmory flew above the turtle's head and tried to slam back down on the moving target. She missed and ended up behind him, completely vulnerable. Blastoise quickly turned around and shoved her onto the ground.  
  
"Hang on, Skarmory! Try a Drill Peck!"  
  
Skarmory heard her trainer's command and got back on her feet. Blastoise charged at her again, but she met his charge with her attack. Blastoise fell backwards, as he had been off-guard and wasn't expecting the attack. He got back on his feet, and Skarmory jumped back into the sky before he could attack her again.  
  
"Hydro Pump it!" Brad screamed, upset that the bird hadn't gone down yet.  
  
Blastoise pulled out the cannons in his shell and took aim at the Pokemon flying above him. Although Skarmory was moving around to avoid it, Blastoise quickly saw her pattern and chose the exact time to fire.  
  
Gary's jaw dropped as he watched one of his most reliable Pokemon hit the ground like a ton of bricks. "All right, Skarmory. Return," the bird went back into her Pokeball to get some much-needed rest.  
  
"As I was saying..." Brad smiled as he called back his victorious Blastoise. "We'll see who's cocky in the next round. Bring out your best, I'll bet I could take it down."  
  
"You're gonna get it now, Brad," Gary smirked to himself. "Just remember, you told me to use my best."  
  
The older teenager laughed at this comment. "You really don't know what you're getting into," Brad decided to conclude the warnings with that and start the last round that he was so sure he'd win. He already had the Pokeball of his favorite Pokemon in his hand. "Electrode, go!" he threw the Pokeball high. The Pokemon resembling an upside-down Pokeball with eyes and a mouth appeared on the ground.  
  
"Electrode," it called in an electronic voice, rolling around once and returning to its original position.  
  
Gary pressed the catch in the center of his Pokeball and held it next to his face, a confident look in his eye. "This Pokemon won me my Mineral Badge yesterday. I choose you," he slung his arm back into position, "Eevee!" he shouted while throwing his final Pokeball in front of Electrode. The small dog formed in the center of the field, looking just as eager as his trainer.  
  
"Hm, it's cute. But I don't think it could match up to me Electrode's strength."  
  
"'Cute' is the least of Eevee's features. Eevee, start it off with a Quick Attack!"  
  
Eevee charged at Electrode and hit it head-on. Electrode rolled backwards before meeting Eevee's attack with one of its own. He jumped back and over the ball, surprising Brad. Electrode was one of the fastest Pokemon in existence and this little animal just dodged its fastest attack.  
  
"Mud-Slap, Eevee!"  
  
He turned around in midair and landed facing Electrode. He kicked up mud into Electrode, stinging the electric-type with the ground-type move. Mud-Slap wasn't very strong, though; its main aspect was reducing accuracy. While Electrode was shaking off the last attack, Gary ordered a Swift attack and the round Pokemon was attacked by a shower of stars.  
  
"All right, Electrode. It's our turn now!" Brad called. His Pokemon had already taken a beating, but it was still ready to go on. "Thunder attack!"  
  
Large lighting bolts filled the field in which the two Pokemon were battling. But with Eevee's natural evasiveness and the affects of Mud-Slap--along with Thunder being an unreliable move to begin with--it completely missed the little dog.  
  
"Try Rollout!"  
  
Electrode rolled straight towards Eevee at full speed. Eevee was sent into the air once, but when it came around to hit him again, Eevee jumped over it.  
  
"Eevee! Take Down attack!"  
  
Eevee braced his feet on the ground, then charged into Electrode. He slammed into Electrode with full attack power, finishing the Pokemon off.  
  
Brad just stared for a minute, glaring at the proud little Pokemon that had just taken out the best member of his team. "Return, Electrode," he sighed as he called it back before it had time to explode. The boy looked over at the trainer who had just beat him, who was inviting his Eevee onto his shoulder.  
  
"You were Awesome, Eevee," he congratulated the Pokemon who was looking at his trainers face, wagging his bushy tail.  
  
"I have to hand it to you, Gary. You were pretty good."  
  
"You should never underestimate a great trainer," he answered with a grin. "Maybe we'll battle again sometime. And you better train that Electrode," he smirked at Brad.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. I will, you can count on that. Next time you won't be so lucky," he laughed.  
  
"I'll be prepared," Gary smiled. "Come on, Eevee. Let's head back to town for a while."  
  
With that, Gary and Eevee disappeared onto the path back to Olivine. Once he was out of sight, Brad headed the opposite direction, hoping to reach the Pokemon Center in Mahogany Town.  
  
__ __ __  
  
"You know, you really were great," Gary praised Eevee once more as he approached the Pokemon Center. He buried his hand under the end of his tunic-like shirt to grab the Pokeball of the one who needed to be healed. "I just wish that Blastoise went a little easier on Skarmory..." he stared down at the compressed ball between his fingers, thinking about how his treasured Skarmory had been taken down. He enclosed the ball in the palm of his hand and ran up to the Center, Eevee still perched on his shoulder.  
  
He pushed the doors open as he and Eevee strode through, as if they were the heroes of the town. Gary never hesitated to show when he was happy with himself, and Eevee--taking on his traits--was the same way as it stood up straight, trying to impress the only two other people sitting in the lobby. The duo made their way to the front counter and Gary sat Skarmory's Pokeball down.  
  
"My Pokemon needs to be revived," he stated firmly.  
  
"Of course," Nurse Joy smiled before doing a double take. "Wait a minute. Isn't that the Eevee that won against Jasmine's Steelix yesterday?"  
  
Gary grinned to himself while keeping a calm exterior. It wasn't common that a Normal type beat a Steel type, but it was even more rare that something Eevee's size and form could take on a Steelix. It wasn't surprising that the Nurse at the Pokemon Center that probably healed Steelix heard about the event. "Yes, actually. We did win a Mineral badge yesterday, now that you mention it."  
  
Joy leaned over the counter to pet Eevee. "It's amazing something so cute can be so strong," she giggled.  
  
"Well, Eevee's been with me since it was a baby... I imagine it caught on to my strategies," Gary continued to take in the flattery with open arms.  
  
"Well, I'll revive your Pokemon right away. I just wanted to congratulate you," the Nurse picked up the Pokeball that had been placed before her and disappeared into the back.  
  
Gary headed to the seats in the lobby and sat down on a bench next to a young boy with a Sentret in his lap. Sentret looked up at Eevee, then Gary, then to her trainer. She nudged her trainer gently, pointing to Eevee once she got his attention. The boy did the same relay as his Pokemon.  
  
"Hey, did that Eevee really win against a Steelix?" the child's rasp voice curiously asked the older trainer with the Eevee.  
  
Gary turned to the boy with a smile, realizing that he must have overheard him talking with Nurse Joy. "He sure did. He beat the gym leader's Steelix with flying colors. Earned me my twentieth badge," he figured if his Grandfather wouldn't listen, he could attempt to give this kid some sappy, inspiring speech about it.  
  
"Wow! Twenty badges?! I only have one!" the boy picked up a backpack from the floor and pointed to the Hive badge arranged on the side. "My name's Adam. What's yours?"  
  
"I'm Gary," he pointed his thumb up to the Pokemon on his shoulder. "And this, of course, is Eevee. How long have you been training Pokemon?"  
  
"I just started two weeks ago. I'm getting my Totodile healed right now."  
  
"A Totodile? They're pretty hard to handle for a rookie..."  
  
"Not this one," Adam smiled. "He obeys all of my commands."  
  
"You must have gotten a well-bred one," Gary commented, then turned his attention to the raccoon-like Pokemon in Adam's lap. "Do you mind if I take a look at your Sentret?"  
  
"Sure," Adam lifted Sentret and placed her in Gary's open hands. "She's cute, huh?"  
  
Gary responded with a nod, then proceeded to examine the Pokemon. She seemed exceptionally strong for a Pokemon of her kind. "How long have you had this Pokemon?"  
  
"Three days. She won against the Spearow that beat Totodile."  
  
He had the thing for three days and she beat a Pokemon a Totodile couldn't take down. "You're gonna do great, Adam," he predicted wholeheartedly as he placed Sentret back into her trainer's lap.  
  
"Thanks, Gary," Adam blushed, stroking Sentret's back. "I'll bet your family's pretty proud of you earning twenty badges. When I beat the Azalea gym leader, my parents were really happy for me, and my sister gave me a Hoppip that she caught! I felt really good about winning the battle."  
  
Gary stared down for a minute, reflecting on what happened the night before. This kid got praised to no end after winning his first badge. Gary had twenty and couldn't even get hold of his Grandfather to tell him. As for his parents... He didn't even bother to tell them about his accomplishments. _"I felt really good about winning the battle,"_ Adam's scratchy voice ran through Gary's head again. He felt embarrassed for being so happy about his Mineral badge. Why? Because it seemed inferior to what Ash had been up to. That's what his Grandfather cared about. But he and Eevee had just swept away a trainer with a tough Electrode. He felt great about that, and he hadn't even cared to say anything to his Grandfather. Why was he letting himself be held back?  
  
He was snapped back into reality my questioning, "Ee" in his ear. He turned his head to the side to look at Eevee, who looked concerned. He looked back at Adam, who seemed to be expecting a comment.  
  
"Yeah, it's nice to have family to support you. Remember that," he smiled, waving his finger in front of the young trainer. "Can you excuse me for a minute, Adam? I have to make a phone call."  
  
"Okay, I'm not going anywhere until Totodile gets back," Adam politely answered, watching the older trainer walk to the door. "Oh wait, Gary?"  
  
He turned in his tracks back to the boy. "Yeah, Adam?"  
  
"Can you give me some tips on how to beat Jasmine?"  
  
Gary smiled at him. It seemed almost absurd for a rookie to battle a great gym leader like Jasmine, but he had a hunch about this kid. "Sure. I'll tell you what I know about her technique."  
  
"Thanks," Adam called as Gary left the Center.  
  
Gary returned to the phone booth that he used the previous night. After stepping in the booth, he head another gentle cry from Eevee. He realized that he was still on his shoulder, and didn't know what had happened. "Come on, Eevee. Back inside," he called the dog back into his Pokeball, who reluctantly let him.  
  
He proceeded to call his Grandfather's lab again, this time not intending to brag about his badges. Once again, Tracey answered the phone.  
  
"Thank you for ca--Gary," he gasped.  
  
"What? Do I have a a third eye?" he started feeling his forehead, mocking Tracey.  
  
"Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you about--"  
  
"Yeah, well I wanted to talk, too. I wanna leave Grandpa a message."  
  
"Okay..." he invited him to continue, slightly confused.  
  
"Yeah. Tell him I'm not calling in anymore. Tell him that if I'm not worth his time, if I don't match up to his expectations when I'm doing the best I fucking can, I don't have time for him. I'm through with this," Gary waited for a couple of seconds just to see the astonished look on Tracey's face, then hung up.  
  
He slammed the door to the phone booth behind him as he walked back to the Pokemon center. He wasn't angry anymore; in fact, he felt relieved. He finally said it. He had wanted to tell his Grandfather how he felt for a long time, but never had the balls to say anything to him. He kept those thoughts compressed for three years, and it felt good to finally sum it all up.  
  
When Gary returned to the Pokemon Center, he saw Adam crouched down, looking under the chair he had been sitting in earlier. He walked up to the boy, trying to see what he was looking at. "I give up. What are you doing?"  
  
Adam jumped at the sound of his voice, barely avoiding bumping is head. He looked up and saw the trainer he had been talking to earlier. "Oh hi," he laughed. "Sentret's playing a game. She won't come out."  
  
Gary knelt down with Adam, seeing Sentret clinging to a leg on the chair. The little Pokemon suddenly lunged onto Adams face, giggling wildly.  
  
"Ah! Sentret!" Adam laughed, trying to pry the Pokemon off of his face.  
  
The noise of the swinging doors behind the counter opening suddenly came through the Center. Gary and Adam looked up to see Nurse Joy holding two Pokeballs. "Your Pokemon are all right, boys," She held one Pokeball out in the direction of each trainer. Gary took Skarmory's ball and attached it back to his Pokebelt. Adam finally got the raccoon off of him and came to the counter.  
  
"Thanks for taking care of--Hey!" the Pokeball in the Nurse's hand was suddenly taken away by the man who had been sitting in the corner, who was now making a run for the door. Adam growled as he turned around, ready to run after him.  
  
Before Adam could do anything, Gary had already grabbed one of his Pokeballs and threw it in front of the man. "Houndoom! Go!"  
  
A large black dog formed in front of him, head lowered and snarling. The man slowly backed away from the dog, trying to keep away from the people standing in the Center. Houndoom's slender paws spread and he crouched down, ready to attack.  
  
"Houndoom, crunch attack!" Gary shouted to the Pokemon.  
  
Houndoom drew his threatening jaws open and lunged to the man holding Totodile's Pokeball. The strange man dressed all in black screamed and ran back into the lobby, throwing the Pokeball into the air. Adam jumped up and caught the ball before it landed.  
  
Gary smiled briefly at Adam's happy face, then drew his attention back to his Pokemon. "All right, get him outta here!" The soot-colored dog jumped after the man, directing him out the door. "Great job, Houndoom. Return," the Pokemon retreated into his Pokeball.  
  
"Gary, you saved my Totodile! Thanks a lot," Adam was both grateful and impressed.  
  
"No problem. You do what you have to," Gary, being his usual self, sucked it right in. "I really didn't want to see your Pokemon taken by Team Rocket."  
  
"That man was from Team Rocket?" Nurse Joy sounded astonished that a Team Rocket member was in her Center.  
  
"I've had my share of Rocket incidents. I recognized the clothes. You'd think they'd try being more inconspicuous."  
  
"Can you give me those tips now?" Adam eagerly questioned.  
  
"Sure, Adam. Let's take a walk and I'll tell you what I learned about Jasmine's battling," Gary put his hand on Adam's back and the two walked out of the Pokemon Center.  
  
"Hey, Gary? I've got one other question first."  
  
"What's that?" he looked to the younger boy.  
  
"What's Team Rocket?"  



	2. Chapter Two

**_Chapter Two_**  
  
  
Mitchell slowly walked to the large metal doors with bulky guards on either side. He stopped for a second, took in a deep breath and approached the men. "Um... Excuse me..."  
  
"Yes?" the guard on the left grunted.  
  
"Uh, I need to see the boss. I'm on the Feraligatr project..." Mitchell stammered, his hands fidgeting behind his back.  
  
"What's your access code?" the second man demanded.  
  
"03286."  
  
The men looked at each other, then back at Mitchell, and opened the doors to the office. Mitchell slunk into the room, hearing the doors shut as soon as he was in. He looked around the huge office, looking for his boss.  
  
"Who's here?" a deep voice called from behind a large, dark red leather chair behind a mahogany desk.  
  
"It's, uh... Mitchell, sir."  
  
The chair spun around to face him, putting Mitchell face-to-face with the person that intimidated him more than anyone, adding to his already submissive nature. "Did you get the Totodile?"  
  
"You see, sir... I couldn't exactly..."  
  
Giovanni narrowed his eyes at his minion. "You didn't get it."  
  
Mitchell glanced at the Persian beside the desk. She seemed to be mocking him with her naturally sly look. He brought his eyes back to his boss. "No, sir," he said simply, trying not to start anything. It didn't work.  
  
"I left you with the easiest mission on the project," Giovanni growled. His voice suddenly grew loud. "But you couldn't even do that! It belonged to a little kid! He just got the damned thing! How hard could it be to capture it?!"  
  
"But he had a friend with him, sir... He had a Houndoom and--"  
  
"I don't care who was with him. You were supposed to get that Totodile and you failed _again_!" Giovanni rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the pain that screaming gave him. "But it doesn't matter. I think we have all of the DNA we need. Some of your colleagues were a little more efficient on the job. As for you... You're off the project."  
  
Mitchell swallowed hard. "But, sir... I need the job. You told me I needed a position this month, and this is all we have..."  
  
Giovanni sighed hard and began stroking Persian. "We'll see what comes up. If we need another man, you're back on. You're excused, Mitchell."  
  
"Thank you, sir," the shaking man bowed as a show of respect, then went to the exit. Giovanni pressed a button on his desk to open the closed doors.  
  
Mitchell didn't look back, not wanting to see his angry face. Once he was far enough down the hallway to escape the guards' site, he leaned against the wall and sighed. He thought for sure he'd be fired. In three months, he had failed every mission he was given. He knew he could do it if he set his mind to it, but he always let his cowardice get the best of him. He knew he was lucky to get another chance, and he promised himself that he wouldn't screw up this time.  
  
__ __ __  
  
  
Giovanni leaned back in his executive leather chair. Despite the usual weak points in his lineup, the Feraligatr project was going fairly well. His only concern was if the samples he already had would be enough. Combining the DNA of different evolutions of the Pokemon--strong wild ones or well-bred domestic ones--along with other strong water-type Pokemon would make it one of the most powerful Pokemon ever to be contained by man.  
  
As he was involved in his own thoughts, the phone on the desk in front of him began to ring. He sighed to himself and turned the picture on, praying that it wasn't bad news.  
  
"Sir, we have a problem."  
  
Wonderful.  
  
"What is it?" he snapped to one of the head scientists of his project.  
  
"The Feraligatr! It..."  
  
"It what?"  
  
The young woman swallowed, knowing very well how angry he'd be. She closed her eyes and realized that the more she hesitated, the worse it'd seem. "It escaped."  
  
__ __ __  
  
  
_Great,_ he thought, flipping the phone line off as leaned his head against the screen. He had called every hotel and Pokemon Center in and around Olivine, but Gary wasn't anywhere. _Maybe he's using an alias or something..._  
  
A car suddenly pulled in to the side of the lab. He looked out the window to see the Professor stepping out of the passenger's door and heading to the front door. _Shit, he's back. What am I supposed to tell him?_  
  
"Tracey? I'm back," Professor Oak called into the housing part of the structure. He stepped into the main room where he found Tracey standing by the phone. "Was everything all right while I was gone?"  
  
"Yeah, of course," Tracey nodded. "I, uh, recorded the messages, so... You can just..." he gestured to the phone system he was in front of. He decided he'd made enough of an ass of himself and retreated to the kitchen.  
  
"What happened?" the Professor called to him, knowing him too well to overlook that he was hiding something. He heard clattering from the kitchen, but no answer. He assumed it had to do with the messages, so he flicked the volume on and began playing back the recordings.  
  
__ __ __  
  
He let himself slide down the wall and fall onto the floor, hearing the muffled voices from the phone messages. The first one from Gary had already passed, but that wasn't what he was concerned about. As he rubbed his forehead, targeting the spot of his already growing headache, he heard the familiar voice come up. "Yeah, well I wanted to talk, too."  
  
Tracey pulled himself to his feet and peered out of the door frame, trying to see the Professor's face.  
  
"Tell him I'm not calling anymore. Tell him that if I'm not worth his time, if I don't match up to his expectations..."  
  
He sighed quietly and shut his eyes as Gary's words combined with his nasal voice intensified the throbbing in his head. He heard the click of the last message ending, then looked up at Oak. He was staring down at the console attentively, as if he was studying it. Tracey knew he wasn't actually paying attention to it.  
  
"Professor?" he uttered, emerging from the doorway.  
  
Oak turned his attention to the teenage boy, who seemed somewhat intimidated. He knew what he was trying to say, though. "He'll come around," was all he said, then walked into the hallway.  
  
Tracey just stood in front of the kitchen for a minute. His reaction was exactly what Gary was talking about, and Tracey knew that all too well. He let out a loud groan and banged his head into the wall, regardless of his headache.  
  
__ __ __  
  
  
"That looks good. What do you say, Eevee? Should we head to Cianwood?" Gary looked down from his map and to the Pokemon sitting in his lap.  
  
Eevee responded with a perky "Ee," and jumped onto Gary's shoulder.  
  
"Okay, then. We'll head down Route," he slid his finger along the trail on the map. "Forty, then we'll camp out for the night. We can ride on Dewgong to get to the city tomorrow," Gary folded up the map and stuffed it into his bag, getting back on his feet. Eevee let out another excited yip as they headed out of the West side of Olivine.  
  
As they left the city, Gary set his view out to the shore that sided Route Forty. The waves were fairly calm, and the sun was setting on the water. His eyes were hypnotically set on the waters, so much that he didn't even hear Eevee calling to him. When he felt Eevee's bushy tail whipping against the back of his head, he finally turned to the dog.  
  
"Eevee, what's your pro--" he was cut off when another body smashed straight into him. Gary fell straight down and Eevee jumped off of his shoulder, as he had seen the person coming long ago.  
  
"I'm sorry! Here," a male voice apologized and a hand was put in front of Gary.  
  
He allowed the person to help him up, rubbing his sore back. "It's all right, I wasn't paying... attention..." he finally looked at the person he had run into, finding himself standing in front of Brock with Ash and Misty setting up camp a few yards behind him.  
  
"Ee, vee ee eev," Eevee grumbled, as if saying, "I told you so." 


	3. Chapter Three

**_Chapter Three_**  
  
  
"Come on, girl..." Tracey whispered to the Growlithe, holding a bowl of Pokemon food to her. "You've gotta eat something. You're going to get sick if you don't develop a healthy appetite," he kept the food out to Growlithe, who still refused to eat, pretending to be interested in the wall. After kneeling before the Pokemon for an even five minutes, he finally decided to give up. "Fine, have it your way. But if you don't eat soon, the Professor's not gonna let you get away with it like I do," he chuckled, patting the dog's head and recalling her to her Pokeball. He set the ball down in its appropriate spot on the shelf of Pokeballs and dumped the food back in its bin. Just as he left the vault and finished locking the heavy steel door, he heard Professor Oak screaming to him.  
  
"Tracey! Come here quick!"  
  
He immediately ran up the stairs and darted his view around the room, looking for the Professor. He saw him staring out the window in the main room. He came to his side, panting. "What is it?"  
  
Samuel pointed across the fields towards Delia Ketchum's backyard, which they had a good view of from the West side of the house. It didn't take Tracey long to figure out what he was pointing to; he easily spotted the giant blue Pokemon banging on the side of the house. "What the hell is that?"  
  
"I don't know, but we'd better do something about it!" his voice had a slight shake in it.  
  
Tracey knew Delia was a good friend of the Professor's, and he knew as well as anyone that she wasn't the bravest of people. He brought his hand to his side, making sure he had all of his Pokeballs with him, then began to run out of the room. "Right. Let's go."  
  
It didn't take the two long to make it across the field connecting the two properties, despite the dim light left from the sunset. They headed to the front of the house so the Pokemon couldn't see them. As soon as the front door was in view, Samuel and Tracey could see Delia on the other side of the screen door. Professor Oak ran up to her.  
  
"What's going on?" he anxiously questioned.  
  
"I... I don't know, I just heard this noise from the side of the house and I saw this..." she trailed off, quavering. "What is that thing?"  
  
Tracey peered down the side of the house, getting a better view of the animal. He could identify the species, but it was much larger than average; maybe nine feet tall. "It's a Feraligatr... It's huge."  
  
Samuel turned to the teenager with an assertive look in his eyes. "Tracey, find some way to distract him. I don't care how you do it, you need to keep it occupied while I go back to the lab."  
  
"Why are you going back?" Delia asked.  
  
"Something's wrong with that Pokemon. I won't be able to get it easily. I have two Master Balls in the vault, it's the only way I can capture it," he looked back to his assistant. "Keep it busy so it doesn't destroy the house."  
  
Tracey nodded once and headed to the backyard while Samuel ran back to the laboratory. Once he reached a spot that he could safely go after Feraligatr from, he pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "Vaporeon, go!" he hurled the Pokeball as far as he could get it. The blue dog materialized three yards away from Feraligatr. Vaporeon knew the situation, gathering what she could hear from inside her Pokeball. She knew to keep her distance.  
  
Feraligatr turned around to see the finned Pokemon letting out a battle cry. It seemed absurd that an average Vaporeon would take on a Feraligatr who possessed unnatural strength. She fired an Aurora Beam at the huge Pokemon, then quickly jumped backwards to avoid retaliation. But Feraligatr wasn't interested in that sort of combat. He charged straight to Vaporeon with enough force to take down a Rhydon. The slick dog leapt across Feraligatr's back as it crashed into the ground, executing a Bubblebeam in midair.  
  
Tracey watched attentively from the brush along the side of the yard. Most people would feel guilty putting their Pokemon in such a dangerous situation, but he got that Vaporeon when it was a pup from one of the most reputable Water Pokemon breeders in all of Kanto. It was still very young, but it had great stamina and agility. He had faith in her. He knew she could do it without getting hurt.  
  
Minutes passed, and Feraligatr still hadn't touched Vaporeon. She sent many attacks his way to keep him interested, and dodged every charge that he tried. But Vaporeon was starting to slow down. She was getting exhausted and Tracey could see that. He prayed that she had enough energy left in her to keep him.  
  
Just as Feraligatr was in the middle of a Skull Bash attack which Vaporeon barely avoided, a purple Pokeball flew across the open yard, finally capturing the Pokemon. Tracey and Vaporeon both turned their attention to Professor Oak standing along the side of the grass, holding the Master Ball in his right hand. Within seconds Delia was running towards him, while Tracey went to Vaporeon's side.  
  
"That was wonderful, Vaporeon," he stroked the Pokemon's amazingly smooth fur. "Thanks for your help. You can rest now," he smiled and returned her to her Pokeball.  
  
He returned to his feet to see Delia standing next to him. "Thank you too, Tracey. That was very brave," she gave him a small kiss on the cheek and smiled at the boy, which he answered with a grin.  
  
"You're welcome," he responded politely before following Samuel back to the lab.  
  
  
__ __ __  
  
  
  
He had been sitting on that same rock for almost an hour, trying to drown out Ash and his friends chattering away. The two parties had agreed to camp out together since they were both stopping. Gary sat on a large rock along the side of the cliff that Route Forty stood under. He was trying to remain out of the way. He just wanted to sleep through the night and head out on Dewgong first thing in the morning. Agreeing to camp with Ash and his friends was simply an act of respect. A little more than a year along the road, Gary told himself to try and be the better man; to stop giving Ash a hard time for reasons the other trainer didn't even know.  
  
"So, Gary..." Ash strode up to the boy on his perch. "How many badges do _you_ have?"  
  
"Hm?" he mumbled. He heard him perfectly, he just hoped Ash would leave if he pretended he didn't.  
  
"I said, how many badges do you have? I guess you didn't hear me talking with Misty about getting my Hive badge recently. I've lost track of how many I have now," he laughed in a somewhat obliviously ignorant way.  
  
"I have twenty," although he was proud of his accomplishments, he kept the dreary edge in his voice.  
  
"I probably have more than that," the boy gloated. "I'd have even more, but I've been pretty busy. Have you ever heard of Spencer Hale? He's a famous Pokemon researcher that lives in Greenfield."  
  
Greenfield. That's the place Tracey was talking about. That's where his Grandfather had gone to support Ash and forget him. "I know. I heard," he lied. He didn't know what actually happened, but he didn't really care to hear it from Ash.  
  
"Oh. I'm not really surprised. It was pretty big news--"  
  
"Don't you ever shut up?" he couldn't help himself anymore.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"If I wanted to hear all of this, I'd ask! But frankly, I don't _care_ what you've been wasting your time with or what badges you won with your half-trained Pokemon. It's really no concern of mine what you choose to do with your life, no matter how earth-shattering you think it is!" Gary stared down at Ash with condemning eyes. _Well, I guess being the better man didn't work._  
  
For a while, Ash just stood there, taking in the other trainer's words. After a few seconds, he finally found retaliation. "You know what your problem is? You can't live and let live. I was telling you about what I've been doing, trainer-to-trainer. I wasn't trying to impress you! I don't honestly care enough to impress you; it's not worth my time," Ash walked to the other side of the rock, an heir of confidence surrounding him. "But you just can't seem to look at it that way. You seem to be jealous of me. Maybe that's why you're not telling _me_ about anything _you've_ been doing."  
  
"No, I'm not telling you because I know you don't care anyway. Why should it mean anything to you what I've done? All you care about is what_ you _accomplish and how great everything thinks_ you _are."  
  
"Excuse me, but you're the one who said what I choose to do with my life is no concern of yours. You're just a walking contradiction, aren't you? Do you even know what the hell you're talking about?"  
  
Gary knew. He knew what he was talking about, and he also knew that he couldn't tell Ash. Instead he covered his bitter feelings for him with harsh words; words that said everything he wanted to say and nothing he felt all at the same time.  
  
He told himself to let it go--he left the message, his Grandfather probably already got it. It was said and done and he could move on by himself. But something wouldn't let him. Something inside of him still held the loathing to this boy, it still wanted the approval that was stolen from him so often.  
  
But he couldn't let it get the best of him. He had already said too much, and maybe it was time to find another secluded spot... _No! I'm not going to hide again. I'm not going to run off and cry; I'm above that! I have to be the better man. Why should I care what he thinks? He means nothing to me--Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing at all._  
  
He decided that enough was enough; he'd just get his stuff together and leave, maybe even apologize to Ash for tearing into him. He was going to be the better man and let it go.  
  
"What's your problem now?" but maybe it wasn't going to work that way in Ash's eyes. "Don't have a comeback now? Well, well, well, maybe you've finally accepted that I know what I'm doing more than you do. It's true, isn't it?" he was starting to cross the line. "You can't handle someone being better than you. You can't handle someone having a better grip on things than you--all sorts of things! Social situations, letting go of things of the past... Pokemon training."  
  
Gary tried to keep his temper as best as he could and jumped down from his pedestal. He turned away from Ash, not even making eye contact, and went to gather his things.  
  
"Oh, we're still speechless," Ash persisted. "I guess I've finally gotten through to you. You never did come off as the type to admit when they're wrong."  
  
He really didn't get it. He was trying to do him a favor and that was how he took it? If he walked away then, he would be admitting defeat in Ash's eyes. That wasn't the kind of person he was. Gary Oak never quit, under any circumstances. If Ash was going to talk big, he'd have to pay for his words.  
  
"Is that what you think?" Gary finally answered Ash after involuntarily giving him an ego boost. He stopped in his tracks, still not turning to face him. "You think I'm forfeiting to you? Don't flatter yourself."  
  
Ash chuckled. "Well, if you're not backing down, what the hell are you doing? Let me guess, I'm, 'not worth your time.' Well, I've got news for you, Mr. hotshot trainer. A _true_ Pokemon Master would never turn and walk away. Only a coward would."  
  
"I am _not_ a coward," he growled, turning around. "What do you want from me? What do you want me to prove to you?"  
  
"A battle. If you're not quitting and you're not a coward, then there's no reason that you shouldn't take me on," Ash explained. "One on one. Do you have the balls?"  
  
Gary narrowed his eyes and stared Ash straight in the eye. "You're on." 


End file.
